Common Hot Tub Wiring Mistakes To Avoid in Kingston, MA

You wait all year for summer to kick in, but Kingston, Massachusetts, doesn’t stay hot for long. While June brings in the balmy 77-degree highs, September quickly shows summer its way out at temperatures rarely surpassing 74 degrees, making outdoor pools a poor choice. Hot tubs are a better fit here – if you can avoid a few common hot tub wiring mistakes during installations and repairs. 

Below, our top electricians in Kingston, MA, explain four big mistakes and when to call us for a hot tub that is a potential hazard.

Mistake 1: Close Proximity Between the Panel and Pool

During a hot tub installation, your electrician probably explained what the rectangular metal box not far from the tub was. From this spa panel or disconnect switch, you can turn the hot tub off immediately (ideal in emergencies). The box can become a threat, though. 

While the panel is waterproof for the outdoor climate, it can cause electrical shocks handled from in the tub. As a safety precaution, the panel remains within sight but no less than five feet away. It should be impossible to reach over and handle it while you’re sitting in your Kingston hot tub, as this prevents accidental electrocutions.

Can you reach your panel from the tub? Beware; that’s one of the most dangerous hot tub wiring mistakes! Call an expert electrician to relocate this box. 

Mistake 2: No Kingston Ground Wiring for Excess Electricity 

Hot tub users can experience disastrous electrical situations without the proper ground wiring in place. The National Electrical Code required all homes built within and after the 1960s to have ground wiring. That wire allows any excess electricity or stray voltage to run into the earth rather than keep going into your household fixtures. 

A ground-wired home means you don’t have to worry about injuries when plugging in a wire. Overloading a circuit shouldn’t fry your Kingston appliances or spark a fire with grounding, but what about your hot tub? Like the rest of your house, your hot tub should have proper grounding so that stray voltages don’t build up. 

Grounding keeps lightning strikes and power surges from affecting equipment and anyone nearby to it. An experienced team must add ground wiring to all current-carrying wires, including those that operate your hot tub. It should also connect to the breaker box’s ground bar and screw. 

Mistake 3: Ignoring Something Constantly Tripping the Breaker 

Ground wiring protects you and your Kingston hot tub, even during power surges, such as what happens when:

• You turn on a large appliance.
• You turn on too many things at once.
• There’s a power restoration after an outage.

So, what if some innocent hot tub wiring mistakes leave you needing to constantly restore the power when you turn your hot tub on? The occasional tripping circuit breaker may not be an issue. If you’re constantly making trips to the basement just to flip the switch back on, there’s a problem. 

In most cases, the hot tub breaker is trying to extinguish a fault to keep you safe. That could be a fault due to system moisture or loose or frayed wiring, for example. Other times, it could even be because your breaker is too small for your house’s growing electrical needs.

Whatever the problem, you should call a licensed electrician to solve these electrical hazards. They’ll conduct a thorough inspection of your Kingston system and protect you. 

Mistake 4: No GFCI Receptacles in Kingston Hot Tubs

Let’s assume your breaker is fine along with your wiring system. What about your outlets? 

Outlets always have active currents running to them, so getting water in them causes a short circuit or even leads to fires. The NEC mandates Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter outlets in water-fed household rooms, such as the laundry or bathroom. Outdoor outlets also need them due to the frequent rain, snow, and flooding in Kingston.

GFCIs shut off the power whenever there are electrical abnormalities. Whether you have your hot tub inside your home or outdoors, those outlets should be proper GFCI receptacles.